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WILL THE ATKINS DIET WORK,

Q007

Well-Known Member
Messages
466
Location
Wales. UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
People who tell lies.
My GP (Dr Doom).
Evening, I'm T2 on no meds or medicines, the biggest issue I have is weight gain and the time has come to tackle it. I went to see my db GP last week and it's like trying to plat fog when trying to get a straight answer, so I thought I'd come here. I've read somewhere that as a db we tend to put on weight around the abdomen in particular around the 'apron' area and that this is a common give away for T2's to put weight on here. Is this true please and what's the best way to shift it quickly. I saw a damming documentary on exercise & gyms on how they DON'T do much to help us lose weight, I was disheartened.

What about the ATKINS, my wife went on it years ago and did some kind of induction? and the weight just fell off week after week. Does anyone know what to do with the induction and what to eat. My weight is at the point it's getting me down my BMI is 29. with kind regards, Q..
 
Hi Q

LCHF lol I'm sure you heard about it it's basically the same thing as far as I know
 
Atkins diet does work, if you can stick to it. It's very restrictive for the first few weeks. Diets are short term though, you'd have more success adopting a lower carb diet/exercise regime and making it a lifestyle change. As for fat build up around "the apron" area, I think this is more of a general problem, not just T2's. You can't target specific areas to lose fat but you can tone up the abdominal area with specific exercise.


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Atkins should be fine as it's LCHF but why go for any 'fad' diet even the better ones? Just think LCHF, well at least keep the carbs down, and have the amount of fat and protein to give you (just) enough calories and other nutrients. Carbs are the villain when it comes to high blood sugar and excess weight gain so focus on them
 
If you havent guessed they mean Low Carb High Fat Other name for Atkins

However do not diet change your lifestyle and eat. As you will know diets dont work. LCHF is brilliant l am biased.....love it
But l eat it l dont diet on it. l also excercise the degree of that is also up to you but the more yoou end up doing the better for you.

Throw your weight scales out the window never use them JUST use fat measure calipers.
Order off the net easy to use amd come with charts. Can use tape measure but not as accurate and no charts.

You start to loose fat scales start to go down great...
You start to put muscle on great....
You see scales start to come up...not great become disheartened give up.

Problem is think 5kg Feathers (fat)
Then think 5kg metal horseshoes (muscle)

Same amount different area filled

The only real way to measure is caliers they are cheap and worth every penny.

The only scales in the house should be the ones you measure your food on to find out how many carbs you are about to eat.

Dont forget carbs are sugar lots explaining that in the LCHF food forum though. Also gradually ease down less of a shock to the system.
 
I follow a modified version of the Atkins diet, and it works for me. I chose to follow the plan because I have weight to lose, and general low carbing isn't quite getting the job done anymore. I found I needed a tighter restriction and something solid to follow in order to keep me on the straight and narrow.
The induction phase is tough, but is good to get you into the habit of seriously low carbing.

The induction phase is 20g or less carbs a day, no dairy, no grains, and I found it easier to weigh everything out to keep a tab on what I was eating.

The reason why I'm on a "modified" version now is that I'm not the biggest fan of meat, eggs, cheese, and dairy (Irritable bowel syndrome, plus 4 months of general low carb put me off most of that stuff). So although I do eat a small amount, I do substitute for green veg, some nuts, and loads of fish.

As far as blood sugar goes, I'm probably not the most suitable candidate to comment, as I haven't yet reached a point in diabetes where I have the kind of control that others on here have achieved. But, my numbers are generally a little lower on the Atkins than they were at a moderate low-carb diet of 50g-80g per day.

Although it's true what others are saying that diets don't work in the long term, if you're looking for a short-term structured approach to low carbing in order to drop some pounds, then the new Atkins diet is a viable option.
I bought the books, but all the info is out there on the internet and to be honest, the books haven't really given me much more information.
 
Hi, Q
I do not think the Atkins diet will work for you. Somehow you come across intelligent and eventually you will find a few problems when one goes on the Atkins Diet.
Also what you say about the apron area might be true in many cases. In my case this happens when I drink to much fizzy drinks ( at the moment I am addicted to Tesco's "no added sugar ginger beer" at £1 50p for 8 cans ) when the promotion ends on Tuesday I shall stop drinking those drinks then my so called Apron will soon go away as quick as it came, and not forgetting few more walks as the weather is getting better.
 
Most diets work if they are stuck to religiously, the problem is most people cant stick to any diet religiously, as others have said you need to work out a diet based on the foods that you as an individual like to eat, that way you are more likely to stick with it and that is the key to both weight loss if thats what you are looking for and/or bg level control.

No diet is going to work long term unless you can stick to it, so my advice would be to find bits of every diet plan and work out your own taking the best bits from lc GI and any other diets you think might be useful.

But only you know if you are able to stick with any particular diet for any length of time and you will have diabetes for the rest of your life so choose wisely.
 
Q007 said:
I've read somewhere that as a db we tend to put on weight around the abdomen in particular around the 'apron' area and that this is a common give away for T2's to put weight on here.
Click to expand...

Never hurt him



Thin people get type 2 too and many people with beer bellies or the typical paunch, most in fact, don't have type 2.

The generalisation come about because fat accumulation inside the liver and pancreatic organs cause diabetes and people confuse this with fat around the belly. Subcutaneous belly fat itself is not the problem, it's the fat inside the organs which interfere with the efficient functioning of the organs. Statistically, if you have a lot of visceral fat, you are likely to have more fat clogging the organs, but it is not a direct link. Fortunately, this is the first type of fat to go when you start to lose weight.

" It is a simple fact that the fat stored in the wrong parts of the body (inside the liver and pancreas) is used up first when the body has to rely upon its own stores of fat to burn. Any pattern of eating which brings about substantial weight loss over a period of time will be effective. Different approaches suit different individual s best." Prof Roy Taylor FAQ
 




ive asked you before not to post pictures of me havent i
 
Hi,

Diets do work but once you stop the weight will reappear and you cannot pick the place where your body stores fat. You may lose weight from your face, legs and arms, backside and sill have weight around your abdomen.

Is your diabetes under control with the eating plan that you have? Is there anything that you can do to tweak this? Maybe eating fewer calories per day would be the answer. A lb. of fat = 3500 calories.

You could try adding more exercise to your day, a power walk, running, swimming and all the things that do not need a gym membership for.

Atkins has many followers who swear by it but you need to consider if this would be your chosen way of losing weight and managing your blood sugars for the foreseeable future.
 
Andy12345 said:
Hi Q

LCHF lol I'm sure you heard about it it's basically the same thing as far as I know
Click to expand...

Hi there Andy, long time no speaketh. Sorry, I live in a tiny Village, I don't get out much, but *** is LCHF, you lost me there!, kind wishes to you Q..
 
wow really? lol

low carb high fat diet, very similar to atkins, all the best people are doing it
 
paul-1976 said:
Hi Q!

Hope you are well!
You might find this sticky thread on this forum interesting if you're looking into an Atkins style diet.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/vivs-modified-atkins-diet.18803/

Best

Paul
Click to expand...

Paul, Excellent thank you very much, this is just what I needed, if anyone has any more please send them. I can't cook that well but I'm going to have a go at this when I get home from my business trip next weekend. I haven't had a sausage in years,, errr ummm.. that doesn't read right does it.. I meant in the non-biblical sense. Kind wishes Q..
 
Don't know how much you need to lose but husband, who weighed 13 stone 6 on 1st Feb has gone down to 12 stone 6 through LCHF and I have lost a stone too. I am t2 - husband not diabetic. Try www Dietdoctor - I don't have to weigh anything on LCHF - think Atkins too much hassle but just my opinion.
 

Catherine Hello, I hope my message finds you well, I'm a carboholic. I stopped going to the gym a year ago and had planned to re join when I watched another documentary on BBC iPlayer about Gyms \ running. It was quite damming in that it doesn't aid weight loss, they took many readings and analysis with several candidates and they burn off about 90 calories after an hours work out. Running was even worse, a professor in Orthopaedics showed his research over many years and the link to hip and knee joint issues because of the percussive nature of this type of exercise. It's probably still available to watch on iPlayer but it was quite disheartening to watch. But, this did confirm that regular exercise, walking and swimming came out tops, that exercise does reduce BG levels and without question improves mood but the release of endorphins into the bloodstream. Kind wishes, Q
 
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Hiya, Thanks very much for the info' do you \ anyone have any 'links' for Youtube that I can watch for the induction, I've looked and found just snippets but nothing substantial, Kind wishes, Q
 
ive read ALOT sbout the effects of running on your joints ect and its very much in doubt if it actually does hard, many studies say it actually preventss or holds off arthritus, its a bit like db there are many differing opinions but it seems to trend is leaning towards it making joints better not worse, i do believe that weight loss is done from the kitchen not the gym BUT along with a good diet i also believe exercise is brilliant, i once plateuxed (sp?) on my diet i hadnt lost anything for weeks, my PT nearly killed me with some interval running on the treadmill one morning and it kicked my weightloss back to life and i started losing weight again, i think exercise alone is useless but a combination is awesome
 
Exercise, like eating, is a question of not overdoing it, not binging on it or doing it excessively. Little and often is more natural.

When I go to agricultural shows, I see lots of elderly farmers limping badly from all sorts of aches and pains, mostly arthritic. In the alps I used to see lots of 'hardened alpinists' suffering from knee joint and ankle joint problems. They were the ones who clattered down the steep slopes at a pace whereas the locals gently strolled, often with the aid of sticks, an alpenstock or today, trekking poles. Your joint, tendons, cartilage etc do wear out. Go easy on them. Low impact exercises, rowing, cycling, swimming, are much kinder to the joints. Your knees, ankles and back are all susceptible to over doing it and they don't repair very well either. As you get older, those niggly pains that you shook off within a couple of days when you were in your 20s, seem to linger for weeks. I've just returned from a bike ride and am amazed at how many people are out actively punishing themselves. What is wrong with just doing something for the sake of enjoyment? If you have fun doing something, you're more likely to stick with it and make it a regular event in your life.
 
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